Composer Datebook: October 15
The most significant and internationally best-known Finnish Classical composer and indeed, – the outstanding Finnish composer before Sibelius – was Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838), who rose to a prominent position in the Swedish music world.
Bernhard Henrik Crusell was born this day October 15, 1775, in Uusikaupunki, Nystad, Finland and died July 28, 1838, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was a Finnish composer, virtuoso clarinetist, composer, conductor and translator. He is a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born three months before the latter. They probably never met.
Crusell lived in Stockholm from 1791 onwards and performed his life’s work in Sweden. He made his last visit to his home country in summer 1801, when he performed in Turku and Helsinki. In those days, Finland was undeniably a musical backwater. The centre of musical activities was Turku, where the Turku Society of Music (Turun Soitannollinen Seura), founded in 1790, had done invaluable work in promoting music and had set up an orchestra of its own.
Crusell studied the clarinet from the age of eight and at 12 joined a military band where he began his career as a musician. In 1791 he went to Stockholm where he became a court musician two years later. He studied the clarinet in Berlin in 1798 and in 1803 went to Paris to study composition and clarinet. He held posts as music director in the Swedish court chapel and royal regiment.
Crusell's compositions include three clarinet concertos, and other instrumental works. He also wrote chamber music, an opera and songs. He made Swedish translations of operas by Mozart and Rossini, among others. Crusell was the most important Finnish composer of the Classical period, and the outstanding Finnish composer up to Sibelius.
Video Credit:
Hakan Rosengren/Okko Kamu: Bernhard Henrik Crusell Clarinet Concerto in f minor, op. 5. Youtube, uplodaded by Waschewsky. Accessed October 15, 2017. (Legendary Live Performance with Hakan Rosengren, clarinet Swedish Radio Symphony conducted by Okko Kamu)
(Note: This piece is excerpted from an original article I wrote for MozartForum.com few years ago. Tel)
(c) Posted 2013. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Finnish Clarinetist, Composer and Translator
The most significant and internationally best-known Finnish Classical composer and indeed, – the outstanding Finnish composer before Sibelius – was Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838), who rose to a prominent position in the Swedish music world.Bernhard Henrik Crusell was born this day October 15, 1775, in Uusikaupunki, Nystad, Finland and died July 28, 1838, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was a Finnish composer, virtuoso clarinetist, composer, conductor and translator. He is a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born three months before the latter. They probably never met.
Crusell lived in Stockholm from 1791 onwards and performed his life’s work in Sweden. He made his last visit to his home country in summer 1801, when he performed in Turku and Helsinki. In those days, Finland was undeniably a musical backwater. The centre of musical activities was Turku, where the Turku Society of Music (Turun Soitannollinen Seura), founded in 1790, had done invaluable work in promoting music and had set up an orchestra of its own.
Crusell studied the clarinet from the age of eight and at 12 joined a military band where he began his career as a musician. In 1791 he went to Stockholm where he became a court musician two years later. He studied the clarinet in Berlin in 1798 and in 1803 went to Paris to study composition and clarinet. He held posts as music director in the Swedish court chapel and royal regiment.
Crusell's compositions include three clarinet concertos, and other instrumental works. He also wrote chamber music, an opera and songs. He made Swedish translations of operas by Mozart and Rossini, among others. Crusell was the most important Finnish composer of the Classical period, and the outstanding Finnish composer up to Sibelius.
Video Credit:
Hakan Rosengren/Okko Kamu: Bernhard Henrik Crusell Clarinet Concerto in f minor, op. 5. Youtube, uplodaded by Waschewsky. Accessed October 15, 2017. (Legendary Live Performance with Hakan Rosengren, clarinet Swedish Radio Symphony conducted by Okko Kamu)
(Note: This piece is excerpted from an original article I wrote for MozartForum.com few years ago. Tel)
(c) Posted 2013. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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